Ford Global Technolgoies, LLC

Cse Corporation

Automotive Lighting Corporation

Denis Patrick Igoe

Stuart C Salter

Cornel Lewis Gardner

Jeffrey Singer

Chi Li

Gregory Alan Miedema

Megan Lovejoy

Peter Morton

Helmut Ortinau

Irene Shu

Steve Davies

A modular LED light unit for mounting to an object to illuminate distally located objects comprises a circuit board supporting a plurality of LED lights and a light permeable front cover. The circuit board includes a plurality of apertures with the LED lights being reverse mounted to the circuit board such that each LED light is located by and extends into a separate one of the apertures. The front cover includes an outer surface and an inner surface and at least one optical structure located on the outer surface or inner surface. At least one of the LED lights is axially aligned with the optical structure whereby light emitted from the aligned LED lights is directed into the optical structure.

Compact LED light module

A method for making a vehicle interior panel including positioning a slipsheet on a film or fabric liner. The liner is placed on a substrate board. The liner and substrate board are formed into an interior panel. A cavity is formed by removing a portion of the substrate board from the interior panel adjacent to the slipsheet position. A lamp is positioned in the cavity.

Hidden lamp manufacture process

A light bar proximity switch is provided that includes a light pipe having a first surface and a second surface, wherein the first and second surface define an area. The light bar proximity sensor further includes an at least partially reflective surface adjacent the second surface, at least one circuit board spaced from the light pipe and the at least partially reflective surface, at least one proximity sensor electrically connected to the at least one circuit board, and at least one light source configured to project light along the area, wherein the emitted light is reflected by the at least partially reflective surface and viewed through the first surface.

Light bar proximity switch

A vehicle interior panel having a substrate with a receiving slot. A support lens is disposed in the receiving slot and includes a light source. A sensor is operably connected to the light source and disposed proximate the support lens. A connector operably links the sensor to the light source through the support lens. A decorative layer extends over the support lens and the sensor.

Automotive interior hidden switching

A luminous decorative vehicle trim insert having an opaque carrier structure. A reflective layer is disposed over the opaque carrier structure. A light pipe is adjacent the reflective layer and operably connected to a light source. An optic layer is disposed in the light pipe. A total internal reflection (TIR) protective layer is disposed over the light pipe. A diffusing layer is disposed over the TIR protective layer. A decorative transmitting layer is disposed over the diffusing layer. An optic layer creates a luminous effect in the trim insert visible only when the light source is activated. An environmental layer is disposed over the transmitting layer.

Luminous decorative vehicle trim insert

A vehicle storage compartment is provided having a housing defining a storage space and a shelf disposed within the housing such that the compartment is divided. The shelf includes translucent material coated with flock and has non-flock areas. A light source is operatively coupled to the shelf to provide light illumination through the translucent material such that light illumination is illuminated into the compartment through the non-flock areas.

Illuminated shelf vehicle storage compartment

A vehicle interior panel is provided that includes an interior panel substrate defining an aperture for a light source to extend through the interior panel substrate, a lens attached to the interior panel substrate, wherein the lens extends over at least a portion of the aperture for the light source, an at least partially transparent material that extends over the lens, and a plurality of positioning holes defined by the interior panel substrate, such that at least a portion of the plurality of positioning holes are configured to correspond to a plurality of positioning pins of an interior panel mold.

Vehicle interior panel and method to manufacture

A light bar system for a vehicle compartment includes a circuit board having a plurality of capacitive-type, user-activated switches, an electrical power source coupled to the circuit board, a light emitting diode (LED) coupled to the circuit board, and a light bar affixed to the circuit board. The user-activated switches are coupled to a vehicle accessory to control the level of operation of the vehicle accessory. The most recently actuated one of the user-actuated switches is detected by the circuit board and the circuit board provides a pulse width modulated (PWM) signal to the LED with a duty cycle of the PWM signal based on the most recently actuated switch. A higher duty cycle PWM signal corresponds to a higher setting of the accessory.

Light bar

A vehicular lamp has at least one headlamp having a headlamp reflector and a light source provided within a focal area of said headlamp reflector. In order to darken the appearance of the vehicular lamp the inner surface of the headlamp reflector is at least partially darkened.

Growing community of inventors

Livonia, MI, United States of America

Denis Patrick Igoe